A four-year-old boy is among three people killed by falling trees as wild weather lashed Victoria and prompted thousands of calls for help.
Victoria Police confirmed the boy died after being struck by a tree at Hawthorn Rd in Melbourne’s Blackburn South on the morning of Aug 27.
A 36-year-old woman also died after a tree hit the ute she was a passenger in along the Maroondah Highway in Fernshaw around 7pm.
The 24-year-old male driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
In another incident, a 59-year-old man died after a tree fell on his car as he was leaving a shopping centre in Belgrave.
Police are preparing coroner’s reports for the three incidents.
As of Friday morning, the State Emergency Service had reported more than 2000 calls for help because of the storm, which hit Melbourne early Thursday night.
A severe weather warning had forecast wind gusts up to 158 kilometres per hour.
The SES said most of the calls were for downed trees, while about 10 percent were for building damage.
The worst-hit areas were Mount Evelyn (58 calls for assistance), Belgrave (55), Croydon (45), Lilydale (34) and Mount Waverley (30) - all in Melbourne’s east.
SES state duty officer Gerry Sheridan told 3AW on Friday morning they were still responding to 400 jobs and would mobilise crews from other parts of Melbourne.
Motorists are being advised to drive carefully, with the transport department reporting multiple traffic lights out.
Tens of thousands of Victorian homes have been left without power, with supply companies scrambling to restore services.
Meanwhile, Metro Trains say major delays are clearing for the Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston lines after an equipment fault near Caulfield.
A tree also fell across rail lines near Malvern.
